Career John Caird (director)

1 career

1.1 theatre
1.2 sweden
1.3 japan
1.4 opera
1.5 musical theatre
1.6 television
1.7 other work
1.8 writing
1.9 personal life

career
theatre

caird associate director of contact theatre 2 years 1973–75 directed plays shakespeare, chris bond, john osborne, james saunders, samuel beckett, wrote , acted in theatre in education programmes manchester s schools , prisons, , actor , musician in plays brecht, goldoni , jellicoe.

he worked freelance director various fringe theatre companies. sidewalk theatre directed last resort peter flannery. avon touring directed regina versus stephens late david illingworth.

caird taught 1 semester @ ottawa university drama department, canada, directed changeling middleton , rowley. in 1975, founded, stephen barlow , others, circle of muses – touring music theatre troupe took musical entertainments around classical music clubs in england , wales.

in 1977 caird joined royal shakespeare company assistant director, becoming resident director in december 1977 , associate director in 1980.

from 1977–90 caird directed on 20 productions rsc including shakespeare s twelfth night zoë wanamaker, john thaw, daniel massey , emrys james, romeo , juliet daniel day-lewis, amanda root , roger allam, midsummer night s dream john carlisle, clare higgins , richard mccabe, merchant of venice, , antony , cleopatra.

at rsc s swan theatre directed ben jonson s comedies every man in humour simon russell beale, henry goodman , pete postlethwaite , new inn john carlisle , fiona shaw, first night of play being second-ever professional performance since first appeared in 1629. last production @ swan own new version of john gay s beggar s opera music composed ilona sekacz.

caird s other productions @ rsc included classic works farquhar, shaw, strindberg, gorky , brecht , world premières of plays peter flannery, jonathan gems, mary o malley, john berger, nella bielski, charles wood , richard nelson.

at rsc caird co-directed 4 productions trevor nunn. first merry wives of windsor in 1978 ben kingsley, david threlfall, , timothy spall. next nicholas nickleby in 1980, nine-hour adaption dickens david edgar ran 3 separate seasons @ aldwych theatre , transferred plymouth theatre on broadway. caird , nunn collaborated on new version of j. m. barrie s peter pan, first ever production of play use male actor in title role. production ran 3 consecutive seasons @ barbican theatre 1982–1984 miles anderson, mark rylance , john mcandrew playing peter. lastly les misérables in 1985, musical claude-michel schönberg , alain boublil co-production between rsc , cameron mackintosh. ran 8 weeks @ barbican theatre before transferring palace theatre in west end, moving queen s theatre in 2004 still running. opened @ broadway theatre in new york in 1987 , thereafter has played on world.

caird started directing @ london s royal national theatre in 1993 under artistic directorship of richard eyre. first production trelawney of wells helen mccrory , robin bailey. chekhov s seagull followed in 1994 in new version pam gems judi dench, helen mccrory , bill nighy. in 1996 directed world premiére of pam gems play stanley based on life of english painter stanley spencer, antony sher in title role. stanley later transferred circle in square theatre on broadway. continued direct plays @ national under artistic directorship of trevor nunn peter pan in 1997 starring daniel evans pan , ian mckellen hook and, in nt ensemble season of 1999, bulwer-lytton s money , own new version of voltaire/bernstein candide, both simon russell beale , late denis quilley. in 2000, again directed simon russell beale, time in hamlet, production toured uk , europe, going elsinore, stockholm , belgrade, before transferring brooklyn academy (bam) in new york. caird s last production @ national theatre world première of humble boy charlotte jones, diana rigg , simon russell beale. play transferred gielgud theatre in west end felicity kendal joined cast , opened in new york in 2003 @ manhattan theatre club.

caird s other productions in west end have included macbeth @ almeida theatre simon russell beale , emma fielding, anouilh s becket @ theatre royal haymarket jasper britton , dougray scott, charles dyer s rattle of simple man michelle collins , stephen tompkinson , michael weller s night gillian anderson , roger allam, both @ comedy theatre , own musical daddy long legs @ st james theatre megan mcginnis , rob hancock.

in 2015, caird directed james phillips’ new play mcqueen, opened in may @ st james’s theatre in may starring steve wight , diana agron , transferred haymarket theatre in west end in august, starring wight , carly bawden. mcqueen designed david farley, lighting david howe, choreography chris marney , sound john leonard.

caird directed 2 new shakespeare productions in 2015: japanese language production of twelfth night in tokyo toho company, opening in march @ nissay theatre - , love s labour s lost stratford festival in canada designs patrick clark, lighting michael walton , music josh schmidt, opening in august , playing in repertoire rest of season.

sweden

in 2009, caird made principal guest director @ sweden s national stage, royal dramatic theatre of stockholm (dramaten). first production in sweden (som ni vill ha det) stadsteatern (stockholm city theatre) in 1984, stina ekblad , mats bergman. since has directed exclusively dramaten midsummer night s dream (en midsommarnattsdröm) in 2000, twelfth night (trettondagsafton) in 2002, strindberg s dödsdansen (the dance of death) in 2007 stina ekblad , Örjan ramberg , merry wives of windsor (muntra fruarna windsor) börje ahlstedt falstaff in 2009.

caird s production of shakespeare s tempest (stormen) opened @ dramaten in october 2010 orjan ramberg, stina ekblad , jonas karlsson. returned dramaten in 2011 direct shakespeare s romeo , juliet (romeo och julia) starring christoffer svensson , sophia pekkari.

in february 2014 caird worked first time in dramaten s intimate stage, målarsalen, directed hjalmar söderberg s classic swedish drama gertrud anna björk, jonas malmsjö, otto hargne, magnus ehrner, , mia benson. play designed jan lundberg, costumes ann-margret fyregård, lighting hans-Åke sjöquist , music william stenhammer.

japan

caird s japanese productions started les misérables, opened @ imperial theatre (teikoku gekijo) in 1987 , has been running in repertoire other works @ same location ever since, touring extensively throughout japan.

in 2006, directed own version of beggar s opera nissay theatre in tokyo, production being revived in 2008. 2007 production of midsummer night s dream (natsu no yo no yume) new national theatre (shinkokuritsu gekijo) revived in 2009. play kinshu adapted teru miyamoto s famous novel opened @ galaxy theatre in 2007 , revived in 2009. has directed coward s private lives (shiseikatsu) @ theatre crié in 2008 , jane eyre @ nissay theatre in 2009. in 2010 caird directed own version of bernstein s candide @ imperial theatre, starring inoue yoshio , ichimura masachika.

caird returned tokyo in summer of 2012 direct japanese première of musical daddy long legs @ theatre crié, translated maoko imai caird , starring maaya sakamoto , inoue yoshio. revival of shochiku production of jane eyre opened @ nissay theatre in autumn of 2012 , toured hakata-za in kyushu.

daddy long legs revived @ theatre crié in january 2013 , again in march 2014. further revivals programmed 2015 , beyond. cd of show, lyrics maoko imai released toho in tokyo in june 2014.

in spring 2015, caird directed new production of shakespeare s twelfth night toho company @ nissay theatre in tokyo, starring kei otozuki, tomoko nakajima, satoshi hashimoto , songha. play translated kazuko matsuoka, song lyrics maoko imai, designs late johan engels, lighting ryuichi nakagawa , music john cameron.

opera

in opera, caird has directed mozart s zaide new libretto italo calvino @ musica nel chiostro, batignano opera festival in tuscany, in 1991, conducted paul mcgrath. in 2005 directed verdi s don carlos @ welsh national opera in cardiff, conducted carlo rizzi. in same year, directed staged reading of screams of kitty genovese, new opera todd , david simpatico @ public theater in new york.

he remounted don carlos canadian opera company in toronto in october 2007 , directed new production of verdi s aida wno in 2008.

in 2007-8 wrote libretto brief encounter, new opera andré previn based on play still life noël coward , brief encounter screenplay coward , david lean. opera had world première performance @ houston grand opera in 2009 conducted patrick summers , starring elizabeth futral , nathan gunn designs bunny christie. brief encounter published g. schirmer s in new york , cd of original live production released deutsche grammophon in april 2011.

caird directed puccini s tosca hgo 2010 season, patricia racette tosca, alexey dolgov cavaradossi , raymond aceto scarpia, conducted patrick summers designs bunny christie.

caird returned wno in autumn of 2011 direct new production of mozart s don giovanni, conducted lothar koenigs designs john napier.

he returned houston grand opera in april 2012 direct verdi s don carlos, conducted patrick summers. third leg of co-production welsh national opera , canadian opera company.

in october 2012 caird mounted new production of puccini s la bohème houston grand opera, conducted evan rogister designs david farley , lighting michael clark. co-production canadian opera company , san francisco opera opened in toronto in autumn of 2013, conducted carlo rizzi , san francisco in 2014, conducted giuseppe finzi.

in may 2013 caird s production of tosca opened in los angeles @ la opera, conducted plácido domingo sondra radvanovsky in title role, marco berti cavaradossi , lado ataneli scarpia.

in november 2013 caird directed new production of wagner s parsifal @ lyric opera of chicago, conducted sir andrew davis sets johan engels. singers paul groves, kwangchul youn, thomas hampson, daveda karanas , tomas tomasson.

in 2015 caird remounted production of tosca both lyric opera of chicago , houston grand opera. chicago production conducted dmitri jurowski tatiana serjan in title role, brian jagde cavaradossi , evgeny nikitin scarpia. in houston, patrick summers conducted , roles sung liudmyla monastyrska, alexey dolgov , andrzej dobber.

in 2017, caird’s productions of tosca , la bohème revived @ la opera , san francisco opera respectively. in la, sondra radvanovsky once again sing title role in tosca russell thomas cavaradossi , ambrogio maestri scarpia. james conlon conduct. in san francsisco, carlo montanaro conduct bohème julie adama mimi, ellie dehn musetta, arturo chacón-cruz rodolfo , audun iversen marcello.

musical theatre

caird s introduction musical theatre directing world première production of andrew lloyd webber s song , dance ran @ palace theatre in london 1982–1984.

caird adapted , co-directed, trevor nunn, schönberg , boublil s les misérables rsc , cameron mackintosh. show opened @ barbican theatre in 1985, transferring palace theatre in november 1985 , later queen’s theatre in shaftebury avenue still running after 31 years, longest running musical in west end.

caird wrote , directed children of eden music stephen schwartz ran in west end in 1996. since being published music theatre international in 1998 children of eden has had on 2000 separate productions worldwide.

caird wrote , directed jane eyre music paul gordon played in la jolla, toronto , @ brooks atkinson theatre on broadway 1998–2000 , leonard bernstein s candide adapted original voltaire novel national theatre season of 1999. jane eyre , candide have since both been published music theatre international , have had numerous productions across , worldwide.

the japanese première of caird s version of candide opened @ imperial theatre in tokyo in june 2010, directed caird , designed yoon bae, after original designs john napier.

caird wrote , directed, designer john napier, siegfried , roy spectacular, magic show mirage hotel in las vegas, starring siegfried fischbacher , roy horn , menagerie of white tigers. show opened in february 1991 , ran until october 2004, closing when roy injured 1 of beloved tigers.

caird s adaptation of daddy long legs, jean webster s classic novel, music paul gordon, had world première @ rubicon theatre in ventura, california in 2009, starring megan mcginnis , robert adelman hancock before touring palo alto, cincinnati , numerous other theatres in us. daddy long legs won 3 la ovation awards , transferred london in autumn of 2012 played @ newly opened st james theatre. in september 2015, show opened in new york @ davenport theatre, off-broadway, megan mcginnis , paul nolan jerusha , jervis. daddy long legs published music theatre international in 2016.

caird has started collaboration paul gordon , sam caird. new up-dated version of dickens christmas carol entitled little miss scrooge. previewed @ rubicon theatre in ventura, california in december 2012 , had first full production there in december 2013.

television

caird s television work includes own adaptation of shakespeare s plays henry iv, parts 1 , 2 bbc s performance series in 1995, starring david calder, ronald pickup, rufus sewell, jonathan firth, elizabeth spriggs, simon mcburney, jane horrocks , paul eddington amongst others.

many of theatrical productions have been televised: nicholas nickleby directed jim goddard primetime television in 1982 won emmy award outstanding limited series. swedish tv have screened , dödsdansen. wowow television in japan have screened both jane eyre , beggar s opera while nhk have screened kinshu.

other work

caird has devised , staged 2 celebrations wwf, worldwide fund nature: religion , inter-faith ceremony @ assisi in 1986 , gifts living planet @ bakhtapur, nepal in 2000.

caird devised , directed (with paul robertson, leader of medici string quartet) intimate letters, series of dramatised concerts based on chamber-works , letters of janáček, smetana, mozart, elgar , beethoven.

in 2001 set caird company holly kendrick encourage young playwrights , directors. company produced number of rehearsed play-reading festivals in fringe theatres , rehearsal spaces around london, organised writing , directing workshops , seminars , produced theatre café, festival of european theatre @ arcola theatre, arab-israeli cookbook, verbatim play robin soans @ gate theatre , lemon princess rachel mcgill west yorkshire playhouse.

caird directed production of melodrama, murder in red barn marionette puppets, fund-raiser save tiller-clowes marionettes nation @ britten theatre, royal college of music, starring joanna lumley, gary kemp, bill nighy , others.

for 25th anniversary of national theatre, caird directed nt chain play , drama written in 25 consecutive scenes 25 nt dramatists, mad , wonderful event.

in 2005 caird wrote , directed twin spirits, dramatised concert based on music , letters of robert , clara schumann, in aid of royal opera house, covent garden s educational outreach programme. produced june chichester , starred amongst others sting, trudie styler, ian mckellen, simon keenlyside , rebecca evans. since has played @ numerous venues in europe , america, charitable causes – @ new victory theater on broadway in aid of broadway cares/equity fights aids, @ windsor castle in aid of prince s trust , soil association, @ salisbury cathedral in aid of choir foundation, @ cortona festival in tuscany in aid of mustardseed trust , @ lincoln center in new york , @ mark taper forum, los angeles in aid of music unites. performers these venues have included derek jacobi, joshua bell, natasha paremski, natalie clein, jonathan pryce, jeremy denk , john lithgow. concert televised opus arte @ royal opera house , available on dvd.

in march 2014, caird devised , directed @ home in world – charity concert in collaboration japanese orphan s charity ashinaga , vassar college of new york, involving young people japan, uganda , america. concert performed in concert halls in tohoku , tokyo. @ home in world revived in 2015 @ rose theatre, lincoln centre, new york , warner theatre in washington dc new songs matt gould , tarik o’regan , choreography griffin matthews.

in march 2014, caird devised , directed @ home in world – charity concert in collaboration japanese orphan s charity ashinaga , vassar college of new york, involving young musicians , dancers japan, uganda , america. concert performed in theatres in tokyo , tohoku, area of japan badly affected tsunami of 2011. @ home in world revived in 2015 @ rose theatre, lincoln centre, new york , warner theatre in washington dc new songs matt gould , tarik o’regan , choreography griffin matthews. in 2016 third leg of journey completed visit kampala, uganda young performers played outdoor gala @ ndere centre in support of ashinaga’s african initiative. in 2016 caird co-curated , directed, tom morris , emily blacksell, bristol old vic theatre’s 250th anniversary gala - star-studded cast of bov alumni, including stephanie cole, pippa haywood, toby jones, michael morpurgo, sian phillips, tim pigott-smith, caroline quentin , timothy west.

writing

caird s book directing stage – theatre craft – published faber , faber in march 2010 in london , new york.

personal life

caird has been married 4 times , has 4 sons , 4 daughters. first marriage helen brammer in oxford in 1970. second ann dorszynski (annie caird) in finsbury, london in 1982. have 3 children: joanna (jo) (born 29 january 1983), benjamin (ben) (born 10 october 1984) , samuel (sam) (born 8 july 1987). third frances ruffelle in 1990, in westminster, london. have 2 children: eliza (born 15 april 1988), has become successful singer under stage name eliza doolittle, , nathaniel (nat) (born 17 june 1990). fourth maoko imai in argiano, italy in 1998. have 3 children: yoji (born 19 october 1998), miyako (mimi) (born 18 january 2000) , yayako (yaya) (born 14 march 2002).

his elder brother james architect, town planner , heritage consultant. younger brother george (geordie) oboist , principal emeritus of birmingham conservatoire. sister dr. margaret (meg) laing research fellow in mediaeval dialectology @ university of edinburgh.

caird honorary fellow of mansfield college, oxford, honorary fellow of royal welsh college of music & drama (coleg brenhinol cerdd drama cymru) , has honorary d.litt university of east anglia. member of kenjin-tatsujin council of ashinaga ikuekai in japan.